


Dandy, and Other Positive Adjectives

by mcgarrygirl78



Series: Crazy Love [10]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drama, F/M, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-11
Updated: 2014-10-11
Packaged: 2018-02-20 16:40:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2435666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I don’t think I've ever heard you call something cute before.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dandy, and Other Positive Adjectives

**Author's Note:**

> This story is written in the **Thicker than Water** universe where the BAU are kids and teens. They're growing up fast and this pairing is really growing on me. There’s nothing like a summer romance.

“We’re getting an addition to our family.” Hotch said.

“Oh my God, is Emily pregnant?” Megan asked.

“What? No, no, that’s not what I meant.”

“Oh. Well don’t give me that horrified look. What was I supposed to think when you said new addition, Aaron? Emily surely wouldn’t be the first or last teenage girl to get knocked up. I don’t see her as the teen mom type though; she has a lot of things she wants to do.”

“Emily isn’t pregnant.” Hotch replied in a firmer tone. “She's not even…”

He stopped abruptly. Firstly, he knew that she and Jason were now having sex. At least they had once. That was all it took if after school specials and PSAs were to be believed. Secondly, whatever was happening with another couple was not their place to gossip about. Hotch knew other couples did it but he didn’t want to. He felt doubly so about it if the couple was his sister and his best friend.

“So there won't be a baby?” Megan asked. “Are you getting a dog? I want one when I get my own place. Have you ever seen Corgis? They are so cute but really smart too.”

“I don’t think I've ever heard you call something cute before.”

“That’s not true. I said it about that Isaac Mizrahi dress we saw the other day and those pink Chucks. I have to get those pink Chucks.”

“Well those are inanimate objects. A dog isn’t.”

“I'm glad you noticed that.” Megan smirked. “I like dogs.”

“You do?”

“Mmm hmm.” She nodded. “Are you guys getting a dog?”

“No, we’re not getting a dog. She’s a little girl but no one’s having a baby. Her name is Ashley; she’s seven, and from North Dakota. She ran away from a group home and came here to find my Uncle Dave. They met when he was working a case there.”

“How did a kid her age get from North Dakota to DC?” Megan asked.

“God, luck, and a Greyhound Bus.” Hotch said.

“That should be the name of a book or a band. I like it.”

“She can't stay with Uncle Dave and Erin.” Hotch went on, smiling. “The situation is tense so she's going to come and live with us.”

“I think it’s great that Jason opens his door to kids with no place to go. I don’t need to get all mushy about it but hell; there are parents in this world who don’t give a damn about the kids they give birth to. Here he is opening his heart to kids he doesn’t even know. What if they're future serial killers?”

Hotch smiled again. Leave it to Megan to think something like that. Of course, knowing Jason he thought about it as well. There were some boys in the home where they lived who displayed some sociopathic tendencies. Jason was a profiler by nature, just as Hotch was; Dave was one by trade. Surely he’d given Ashley a million tests and she had no idea what they were.

“I guess even Ted Bundy deserved love as a little boy. Maybe an extra hug or two could mean the difference between serial killer and Supreme Court justice.”

“So you don’t believe some people are born evil?” Megan asked. “Sociopathy can't be learned. You're born with a lack of conscious or morality. Hugs be damned.”

“I believe that there will always be evil in the world. God said, well George Burns said in _Oh God, Book II_ , that there can be no good without an opposite.” Hotch replied. “Most of the time evil comes in the form of man’s quest for power, money, or even love. However, I think it’s rare that someone is a true sociopath. You have to fit all the criteria.”

“So it’s like the albino alligator?” Megan asked.

“Exactly.” He nodded.

“Well I hope Ashley is happy here. Where will she sleep?”

“She's going to share Spencer’s room. They’re close in age and he's still a prepubescent. If she has a problem with men, which Uncle Dave thinks she might, she wouldn’t find him threatening.”

“What kind of problem would she have with men?”

Megan sat up some and looked at him. They were sitting on the wicker love seat, which rested on the side banister of the back porch. It was late but neither one of them were sleepy. A lovely May night, Megan was nearly content wrapped in a blanket with Hotch’s arms around her. Now she was interested in his answer.

“I don't know.” He shrugged. “The foster system isn’t always kind to little girls...or little boys for that matter. She could be scared of older men, angry at them, or any number of things.”

“Believe me, I understand.”

“I know.” Hotch pulled her close again. “C'mere.”

“If I ran away, would you take me in?” Megan asked.

“Didn’t I already do that?” he countered with a grin.

“I'm serious, Aaron.”

“What's going on?”

“Melinda thinks this Tim guy is the one. She suspects he’ll pop the question before Labor Day.”

“Mission accomplished.” Hotch replied.

“Yeah, that was pretty much what I thought when she told me. She’s not going to want to take me with her when she moves to the big house…I'm competition.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah.” Megan nodded.

“Do you think your stepfather would make a pass at you?” Hotch asked.

“Yes.”

Hotch knew how little faith she had in men, even one she’d never met before. Even if the guy turned out to be a good one, Melinda was still jealous of her daughter. She was the mother of seventeen year old girl with a body for sin and no trouble committing it. He felt Melinda alternated between wanting to use her daughter for bait and hating her for still being young, carefree, and beautiful. It was sad too since Melinda was still all of those things as well.

“Our door is always open for you.” Hotch said.

“What if we break up or something? Would you still be so generous?” Megan asked.

“Absolutely. You'd just have to bunk with Emily and not me. Unless, you know, breakup sex makes you hot.”

“Holy moly,” she laughed and it was genuine. “Aaron Hotchner made a big, fat funny.”

Megan was still laughing and Hotch kissed her laughter. The girl gave him butterflies like no one ever had before. He loved kissing her; holding her face in his hands and feeling her tongue dance on his. She had the softest moan and the perfect tremble when he held her close. He deepened the kiss, never wanting to stop.

“We should be naked right now.” She whispered, their lips barely separated.

“There are laws against that in this town.” Hotch replied.

“You're a regular Jerry Seinfeld tonight.” Megan stroked his cheek.

“Why Jerry Seinfeld?”

“Dry wit. I could say Woody Allen or Paul Reiser; they excel at it as well.”

“I think I'm going to kiss you again.”

She smiled; 1000 watts to light up the night sky. Megan wondered if Hotch meant what he said earlier. Would his door always be open for her even if they weren't together anymore? No, that was impossible. But Hotch was a good guy…she could finally, truly believe in that. But could he really be someone she cared for and could depend on?

Megan didn’t want to depend on anyone. She didn’t want to be hurt, used, and angry anymore. Those were things she never was with Aaron, whether they were kissing or not. With Aaron it was all about the positive adjectives. This was more positivity than she’d ever dealt with; everyday was a struggle. How could it be such a damn struggle to just be happy?

“I need a cigarette.” Megan broke away, closing her eyes as Hotch kissed her nose.

“Now?”

“Yes now. I want to go inside and get nasty but I'm gonna need a cigarette before I do.”

“How nasty?” Hotch asked.

“We’ll figure it out when we get there. You know what I like…don’t you?”

“If I don’t then I’ll fake it till I make it.”

“I never have to worry about faking it with you, Hotch.”

He blushed and she gave him another kiss before getting up from the love seat. She lit the Marlboro Menthol and rested against the banister. It was another night at Hotch’s place. Since spending their first night together on her 17th birthday, they were together at least one night on the weekends and anytime Megan’s mother went away. In the past five weeks Melinda had gone away twice.

She felt Megan was old enough to be on her own, even on school nights. Melinda never questioned when she spent nights with Hotch. While she was still wary of Megan having ‘feelings’, she hadn't interrogated her about him since that first time. There were times when Megan could tell she was desperate for information, fishing, but Hotch was something she kept to herself. She deserved something, didn’t she?

Megan managed another smile when Hotch came and put his arms around her from behind. The feeling of his body on hers was something else she was getting used to. It was comforting, warm; nice. She wanted to find the words to tell him so. Maybe someday she would.

“Are you alright?” he asked, moving the blanket aside to kiss her neck.

“I'm just dandy.”

“Dandy? That’s a new one.”

“Well I like to shake things up a little, Aaron. It’s important to keep you on your toes.”

“I can appreciate that.”

“Did you mean it when you said your door was always open for me?” she asked, hating herself for doing it but knowing there was no choice.

“Yes.”

Megan nodded but didn’t answer. She just leaned on him, smoked her cigarette, and let feeling good sink in. It was rare and she wanted to enjoy it. She wanted to enjoy being with Hotch and not worrying about a thing. Tomorrow was tomorrow, and it always came. Megan couldn’t say the same for moments like this.

***

  



End file.
